We are grateful to Dr. Christof Kuhbandner, Dipl.-Psych. Philipp Spachtholz, Dr. Jörg Meinhardt, Dipl.-Psych. Stella Bollmann, and Prof. Dr. Matthias Ziegler for their help with EEG recording and data analysis.
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Original Article
Interactions between autonomic cardiovascular regulation and cortical activity: A CNV study
Article first published online: 25 JAN 2013
DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12026
Copyright © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research
Additional Information
How to Cite
Duschek, S., Wörsching, J. and Reyes Del Paso, G. A. (2013), Interactions between autonomic cardiovascular regulation and cortical activity: A CNV study. Psychophysiology, 50: 388–397. doi: 10.1111/psyp.12026
Publication History
- Issue published online: 5 MAR 2013
- Article first published online: 25 JAN 2013
- Manuscript Accepted: 8 DEC 2012
- Manuscript Received: 5 NOV 2012
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- Baroreflex;
- Heart rate variability;
- RSA;
- CNV;
- Attention
Abstract
The study investigated interactions between autonomic cardiovascular regulation and cortical activity. In 54 healthy subjects, baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were assessed at resting conditions. As an EEG indicator of cortical excitability, the contingent negative variation (CNV) was induced using a constant foreperiod reaction time task. At bivariate level, only RSA showed a moderate positive correlation with the CNV recorded at frontal electrodes. However, when common variance of BRS and RSA was controlled for in multiple regression analysis, an inverse association between BRS and the frontal CNV also arose. The inverse association between BRS and the CNV is discussed as reflecting bottom-up modulation of cortical excitability by baroreceptor afferents. The positive correlation between RSA and the CNV may relate to the interplay between prefrontal processing and cardiac vagal tone.